NBA Star Steven Adams Gets to Work

The biggest reason for basketball team Oklahoma City Thunder’s turnaround has not been Russell Westbrook, Paul George or Carmelo Anthony. It’s been New Zealander Steven Adams, whose 22 points per game on 28-of-34 shooting (82.4) per cent shooting in that stretch has helped what was a bottom-10 offense at November’s end operate at an elite level when he’s been on the floor against three potential Western Conference playoff opponents.

But before we start wondering how 7-foot Adams, who rarely shoots outside the paint could do more to improve their offensive flow than Westbrook, George or Anthony, Thunder coach Billy Donovan is quick to remind us that it is because of those three that Adams is enjoying this success.

“I think people have it really backwards,” Donovan told reporters after the team’s recent win over Utah Jazz. “That’s the greatness, to me, of Carmelo Anthony. The reason why Steven Adams is doing what he’s doing is because of Carmelo Anthony and Paul George.”

This is the natural evolution of a team incorporating two new stars on a team with one superstar already in place in a single training camp. Initially, they try to figure out how to play with each other, and eventually they find out they need to play with everyone. The 2007-08 Boston Celtics discovered this quicker than most, and Kendrick Perkins was a benefactor. Adams is much better than Perk. Andre Roberson would be reaping the benefits, too, if he wasn’t shooting 20 per cent on wide-open 3s.

On 1 December, Adams scored a career-high 27 points on perfect shooting from the field and the free throw line to help the Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 111–107.

Adams was born in Rotorua.

Original article by Yahoo Sports, Ben Rohrbach, December 6, 2017.

Photo by AP.